See the USA!
Pat
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Posts by Pat
Season’s Greetings, Happy Holidays, and Merry Christmas!
04 months ago
by Pat
in Uncategorized
Here’s hoping Santa brought you plenty of new camping gear for 2012, and maybe even a new trailer for those of you who’ve been extra nice!
Photo courtesy Kerola’s Camper Store
A Little Scotty Then & Now…
11 year ago
Since picking up our Serro Scotty HiLander a week ago, we’ve found out the prevailing question we can anticipate in the future: Is that new or restored? We encountered that question twice while camping in Batesville, Indiana Sunday. That’s a fair question to ask from those who remember Scotties from the trailer’s hey-day in the mid-late 1960′s.
The HiLander model was introduced in 1964 and was manufactured until the late 1970′s. Little changed in the design, and with the popularity of them during those years, there was little need to fix what wasn’t broken. John Serro strived to build a line of small but roomy, lightweight trailers that were affordable. Few could argue the success he had, as Scotty built travel trailers from 1957 through 1997 when a devastating fire at their last remaining plant located in Irwin, Pennsylvania put them out of the travel trailer business. Two other plants in Bristow, Oklahoma and Ashburn, Georgia had already closed in the early 1980′s.
Fast forward to 2006 when an RV dealer in western Pennsylvania wanted to see the past brought back. Bill Kerola worked with John Serro’s grandson to bring the Serro Scotty name back and did so with the introduction in 2007 of the 13′ Sportsman and 15′ HiLander models. Now produced by horse trailer conversion specialists Sierra Custom Interiors in Bristol, Indiana, Serro Scotty Worldwide offers a line of five different trailers from which to choose. For us, it was the 15’9″ HiLander, the largest rig they offer. We love just about anything retro, so going with a Scotty for our next trailer was going to be a perfect fit. We went as far as to have them add a black & white checkered floor and aqua boomerang counter and table tops to add to the 1960′s feel.
Their brochure asks you to “Stand apart from the crowd with this timeless classic.” We’ve found early on during our brief ownership that standing out isn’t a hard thing to do with the HiLander. That is, unless you’re at a rally of original Scotties. To the average Joe, they probably couldn’t tell which one was built in my birth year of 1968 (Courtesy of Scott’s Flickr page)…
to one that was built just weeks ago (Ours with Sierra Interiors manager John).
But whether it’s old or new, Serro Scotty is an iconic name in the history of travel trailers that won’t soon be forgotten. Bill Kerola is making sure of that.
Tri-State Route 66 Festival — Day 2
01 year ago
Sorry for the lack of posts! Unfortunately my internet connection at the Joplin Holiday Inn was AWOL until yesterday morning before we left, so I’m just now able to get a new post up.
Oklahoma is HOT this time of year! It was in the low-mid 90′s and it felt it. We stopped off in the morning at the World’s Largest Rocking Chair where we met a couple from Minneapolis who were cruising Route 66 from Chicago to L.A. We found a neat little diner in St. Robert where we had a late breakfast.
After a visit with Ramona Lehman at the Munger Moss Motel in Lebanon, we jumped back on 66 and made our way into Joplin. We then made our way to Miami, Oklahoma for dinner after picking up Denny Gibson from his motel in Baxter Springs, KS. We had dinner at Waylan’s Ku-Ku Burger…one of our must-stops on 66…and had some good grub and road chat.
After a brief stay at a welcome party for the festival, we made our way to the Downstream Casino in Quapaw, Oklahoma and spent some time with Jim Ross, Shellee Graham, Jerry McClanahan, and Joe Sonderman and swapped trip stories to end the night.
Tri-State Route 66 Festival — Day 1
21 year ago
After getting a somewhat late start out of Indy this morning, we made it to Springfield, IL in a record 3 hours for lunch at the Cozy Drive In.
Afterward, we picked up Route 66 and headed south through Farmersville, Litchfield, and Mount Olive before arriving in Collinsville. I was on a mission. It’s been more than 6 weeks since we ordered our Serro Scotty trailer, and I needed a fix…bad. The first time I saw one in person was at an RV dealer there back in November. We arrived at Randy’s Trailer Town to a scorching 92 degrees, but that didn’t stop me. I was pleased to find not one, but TWO HiLanders there to gush over. One was unlocked, so we went in just so I could open every cabinet again, check my head clearance in the wet bath, and just sit at the dinette for a minute and imagine what it’ll be like in a couple of weeks sitting in our own HiLander at a campground somewhere in Indiana.
After getting the satisfaction I needed, we jumped on I-70 and made our way through rush hour traffic in St. Louis. We then picked up 66 again in Eureka and continued on it the rest of the evening. We pulled in to the Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Missouri for our overnight stop. The Wagon Wheel is in the process of a total refurbishing, thanks to new owner Connie Echols. The Wagon Wheel is a classic Route 66 motel, dating back to 1936. Highly worth the stop!
After checking in, we walked next door to a place I’ve been wanting to try for a long time: Missouri Hick BBQ. It’s been here only 8 years, but after one bite, I found their ribs to be legendary! 
After devouring our tasty BBQ, we walked back over to the Wagon Wheel and admired their classic neon sign. 
At that point, our day was done. Then it was back in to use their free wi-fi and post the day’s activities. For a complete view of today’s fun, click here. Stay tuned for Day 2 on Thursday!
Tri-State Route 66 Festival — The Prelude
21 year ago
by Pat
in Road Trips
Here it is Wednesday morning and we’re getting ready to head off for five (hopefully) peaceful days on the road. Our day will start off with a drive out to Springfield, Illinois where we’ll have lunch at the Cozy Dog Drive In, well known as the restaurant where the corn dog was invented 50-some years ago. From there, we pick up that grand old two-lane highway, Route 66 and take it south into St. Louis, where chances are we’ll be diving into a concrete from Ted Drewes Frozen Custard, another Route 66 icon dating back to 1941. After that, we meander our way through the Ozarks of Missouri before picking a spot for the night.
Thursday we’ll finish our drive along 66 in Missouri and head into Joplin where we’ll bunk up Thursday & Friday nights. The Tri State Route 66 Festival is our destination, just over the Missouri/Oklahoma border, at the Downstream Casino. Friday we’ll be cruising throughout central Oklahoma. As some of you know, we’re big into photographing old movie scene locations and there are a couple of towns where “Rain Man” was filmed that we’re going to hit. We also plan on hunting down an old plant that used to build Serro Scotty trailers back in the 1960′s, since we’re (almost) new owners of a 21st century model.
Looking forward to hooking up with some of our old Route 66 friends we’ve met throughout the years this weekend. Feel free to follow along with us here on the blog, as I hope to have daily updates and photos of our trip as internet connectivity allows.
Off we go!
Our New Camping Buddy…
0Many folks who have vintage Serro Scotty trailers also have a Scottish Terrier for a pet. Why not? The Scotty trailers have adorned a black terrier in their logo since the early stages of the company’s existence in the late 1950′s.
Back in December after we made the trek to Transfer, Pennsylvania to talk with the folks at Serro Scotty Worldwide about getting a HiLander, we were pretty sure after this trip we’d one day get one. On the return trip home, we found ourselves at an antique mall somewhere west of Columbus, Ohio on US 40. We walked around a bit to stretch and look at some of the booths. It was there we knew that one day we were going to have that trailer. For $15, we had our confirmation. A little fellow we affectionately named Winton:
We never wanted to get a Scottish Terrier, let alone any dog, but this little guy offered us no mess and no noise. The perfect pet. Now that our HiLander is in production, I decided it was time for Winton to get a little makeover. So, to coincide with the Serro Scotty logo, I gave him a nice black coat of paint and painted his little bow tie red:
Winton will be with us on all our future trips in our Scotty, and will find himself sitting under the awning watching the world go by…just don’t offer to play fetch!
Friday Happy Dance…
02 years ago
After waiting all week to hear back from Tom at Serro Scotty trailers, we got in touch with him today to find out about the modifications for our new HiLander that we’d like done in production. All three were OK’d at NO COST!! With the total retro look of the exterior from the colors to the design, we wanted to do the same with the interior. First, the interior on a standard HiLander looks like this:
We’re going with a different flooring. Instead of the tan stuff, we’re going with the highly retro black & white checkered floor, which will look similar to this old Shasta trailer:
The next issue was with upholstery. The 2010 HiLanders have a brown, paisley looking design that neither of us cared for. The folks at Sierra Motor Corp. in Bristol, IN, where the Scottys are built, will be sending us some photos of some solid colors for us to choose from.
The last request was for a Formica boomerang design for the counter and table tops. The one we thought would tie in with the exterior would be the aqua colored boomerang. A chrome edging around the counters and tables will also compliment the boomerang quite well.
So that’s the plan! Happy to say our HiLander is now officially ordered and it sounds like one they’ve already started will be earmarked for us. ETA 3 weeks! Stay tuned…
The Twelve Year Plan…
0I recall over the years during job interviews, I’ve been asked “Where do you see yourself in ten years?” I’d typically give a BS answer that sounded good, but in reality I had no clue what I’d be doing, let alone what I’d want to be doing in ten years. Well, that’s all changed, and if asked that question today, I could give an honest answer: I plan on being free of debt, free of a mortgage, and in a position to thumb my nose at the rat race and hit the road…permanently.
We’ve both decided now’s the time to start our plan to achieve that goal. Jennifer’s been crunching the numbers of late and if all goes well, 10 years from now we’ll be debt free and mortgage free. Of course a lot can happen in that time period, but unless we have a plan and begin to execute it, there’s no way it’ll ever happen. After we pay off our debts, we’ll turn our attention to our mortgage. By paying it off 12 years early we’ll save nearly $46,000 in interest alone. Once that happens, we’ll see what our savings looks like and then decide if it’s time. We’ll both be in our early 50′s, with (hopefully) many years ahead of us to enjoy life without the rat race. The grand plan from that point is to sell the house, downsize our belongings, buy a new 31′ – 35′ Class A or Class C motor home and call the U.S. our home.
We’ve been doing some initial research on “full timing”, as RVers call it, so we have all our ducks in a row when the time comes. Fortunately we have plenty of time to prepare, as we’re learning there’s a lot involved. But in the end, we’re sure it’ll be worth it. After all, how many in their early 50′s would be in a position to do something this bold? Heck, we’ll have friends who’ll still have kids in school ten years from now!
Every time we watch “RV” or “The Long, Long Trailer”, we think about how cool it would be to be out there on the road like the Gornickes or the Collinis.
We know this life wouldn’t be for everyone, but for two people who love being on the road and seeing different parts of the U.S. as we do, I couldn’t think of a better life to have. And in case you were wondering, no, we wouldn’t be going from place to place every few days. We’d likely stay in an area for a month or two, then move on to another place and set up shop there for a while before moving on to the next dot on the map. Sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it? Stay tuned…and stay where you are…we’ll bring our house to you!
Weighing options…
02 years ago
Those of you who follow the blog know that we’re new RVers since September and are already looking to upgrade to something with a few more amenities than our T@B. We’ve been back & forth for over a month trying to decide what we want our next trailer to be. We were pretty sure we narrowed it down to the Serro Scotty HiLander, and even made a trip to western Pennsylvania to talk with the owner of the company.
However, the Indy RV Show has been in town the past week and on our second trip to it this past Friday night, we ran into a nicely priced and bigger alternative: The CrossRoads Zinger.
The Zinger is a nice entry-level travel trailer, built by CrossRoads RV near the RV manufacturing hub of Elkhart, Indiana. This is a very nicely built model, with ample room and other goodies. Compared to the Scotty, it’s surely a typical looking “box” trailer.
So this leads us to our current weighing of pros & cons. The Scotty has the cool retro 60′s look, but is smaller. The Zinger is a box on wheels, but has more room for a similar price as the Scotty. The Scotty could fit in a garage, but the Zinger couldn’t. The Scotty weighs 2500 lbs and the Zinger weighs about 4000lbs. The heavier load would likely require me to have my 200,000-plus mile transmission rebuilt. The Scotty checks in at 15’9″ from tongue to tail and the Zinger measures about 23′.
So these are some of the variables we need to think about before making a decision. And of course, we won’t have to make a decision until we sell our T@B. So, what are your thoughts? Feel free to comment below!
2010 T@B Trailer For Sale!
4**UPDATED 4/23/2010** Our T@B has been sold! Thanks for your inquiries!
For the three of you who follow my blog, my apologies for turning this into a classified ad! Just looking to get a little more internet exposure for our T@B we have had for sale.
For those of you who found this site because you’re looking to buy a T@B, thanks for finding us! Feel free to contact us at roadmaven@aol.com. Our T@B has been sold, but if you would like a brand new T@B, try Little Guy Trailers, who has resumed production of these cool trailers!
2010 TAB TQ Travel Trailer with loads of options and extras! **Excellent condition, must see!!** Selling SOLD at $1,000′s below MSRP
With some regret, we SOLD are selling our 2010 T@B TQ travel trailer. We loved it and have had fun camping in it since October. But as we thought hard about the types of travel we would like to do and the places we want to stay (basically going off the grid and boondocking/dry camping), we feel that we’d really be happier and more comfortable with slightly upgraded model with toilet and shower.
But if you’re looking at this, you probably already know that the T@B has no bath or shower and don’t have a problem with it! As stated, our model is was a TQ, which is the U-shaped dinette that converts to a queen-sized bed, and has the roomy L-shaped kitchenette. Here are more details from T@B’s website about the TQ model, including its standard features, options, stock photos, virtual tour, etc. Their site is more informative for general information than I could be: http://www.tab-rv.com/specs/Qfloorplan.php Here’s information regarding the TAB generally, including its history, construction, etc.: http://www.tab-rv.com/specs/index.php
As far as our the particular model we used to own, it comes came with the following options:
* Red Alufiber skin with white trim
* Stonehenge pattern for the fabric seats
* Spacesaver 9″ HD TV / DVD / radio combo with exterior antenna
* Norcold ® Compressor refrigerator – 12Volt only (Runs on 110v A/c power thru standard power converter) (note: this refrigerator option allows for the TQ to have the front window, a nice feature that allows more light)
* LP furnace
* Cool Cat ® air conditioner with heat pump
* Northern Breeze ® power roof vent
* Thermarest Archwing Awning (the newer, easier to assemble type) ($400)
* Thetford Porta-potti ($100)
We also have purchased the following items; some are essential, others are just nice to have. We won’t need them with a future model the ultra-cool retro style Serro Scotty HiLander we‘ll purchased, so we are including included them with the TAB:
* A shower tent for housing the Porta-potti (serves as an “outhouse”)
* Stromberg Carlson Steel Platform Step (Model S-100)
* A blue 5-gallon jug and hose for gray water collection
* Teardrop trailer party lights (look just like the TAB)
* Two mini TAB toys made by Siku – one is stock (silver with yellow trim), the other we painted to look like ours, red and white
We have tons of photos of the TAB available for you to see, here at our sites on Flickr. Check out the photos carefully, as almost everything listed here as being included is shown in our various photos (but not everything in the photos is included, only what we have listed here!).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadtripmemories/sets/72157622413338416/
or
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11019355@N03/sets/72157622275975537/
For all of the above, including more expensive options, like the AC/heat pump, furnace, awning, and storage cover, we are asking asked $13,000, many thousands below MSRP. As we have only had the TAB a few months and have babied it alot during that time, it is in great shape and everything works perfectly. It was manufactured in July 2009. We are no longer accepting inquiries, as it SOLD LAST YEAR. are more than happy to answer any questions you have or provide more photos. Feel free to contact us at: roadmaven@aol.com
Please note, the T@B is was located in Indiana, for those of you considering it. It now has a new happy home with the wonderful couple that bought it last year! Thanks!
